


Warmer in the Winter

by Gritty_Water



Series: Mae and Meli Collective [2]
Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M, First Age, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Himring, Implied Sexual Content, Mae and Meli collective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 10:37:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19130317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gritty_Water/pseuds/Gritty_Water
Summary: Maedhros and Melimie share an evening together after he returns from a scouting trip.





	Warmer in the Winter

**Author's Note:**

> Melme: Love
> 
> Melda hyalma: Sweet shell, Mae's pet name for her (there's another story behind that ;) )

Maedhros had told Melimië that Himring would be cold, but she had never imagined anything this cold. It didn’t seem to matter how close to the fire she was or how many blankets she piled on the bed, she couldn’t keep herself from shivering in the frigid air. She lay in bed hopelessly shaking, watching the fire and listening to the screaming wind outside. She wondered if her husband was still outside in it. 

Melimië counted the days since her husband had left to check on the other settlements to keep her mind occupied. Maedhros would be home tonight, if she had calculated correctly. It was too cold to consider doing anything that could not be done under the covers. Even now, her fingers were too numb to work on her needlepoint anymore. And he was out in it, had been for nearly a week…

She shivered as the draft swept through the room again. Maybe if she walked around a bit, it would warm her up. Still draped in their heavy blanket, Melimië slid out of bed. The floor was so cold that her feet immediately began to ache. Maybe a walk wasn’t the best idea after all. Melimië tiptoed across the floor towards the large armchair nearest the fire. She sank into it gratefully. It was a little warmer than the bed. 

He stumbled in late, half frozen, and immediately sat before the fire. Melimië had dozed off in the chair, but she managed to extract herself from the blankets by the time he sat down heavily on the couch. She fussed over him, helping him take off his jackets to be replaced with his warmer, dry pajamas. His outer cloak was caked with ice, and several layers under it were soaked through as well. He winced when she tried to pull them off, his right shoulder clearly aching with the cold.

“Have the new Sindar gotten settled?” Melimië asked, pulling off his glove and rubbing his stiff fingers in between her hands.

He sighed. “All was well on  _ that  _ front. The newcomers all have sufficient food and shelter.” He rotated his shoulder to get the blood flowing again and bit down on his lip in pain.

“Is your shoulder bothering you?” She reluctantly left her warm spot on the couch to grab some of the pasty medicine that fought back the pain, leaving the other conversation alone for a moment.

“It’s just the cold…”

She saw that he was holding it at a strange angle and clicked her tongue in disapproval. “Even so, you have to take care of yourself… Let me help you take this off…” She removed his final layers of jackets with difficulty, and began to spread the paste on his shoulder.

Maedhros shivered worse, inching closer to the fire, and Melimie finished as quickly as she could. She had laid his pajamas out close to the fire, so they would be warm when he returned, and she relished the warmth as she helped him finish changing. They both sat back on the couch, pulling it even closer to the fire and wrapping themselves in as many blankets as they had.

“Meli… You’re shivering, too…” Maedhros held her in his lap, pulling her closer to his body.

“It was cold here, without you,” she responded, rubbing his newly gloved hand with her own. She buried her face in his jacket, warming herself with his heat. “And I missed you.”

His arms curled around her. “And I missed you,  _ melme _ .”

They lapsed into silence, happy to be back in the other’s company. Even though the wind still screamed outside, the crackling fire made the room feel cozy. For the first time since Maedhros left, they both warmed up again. Still, Maedhros had more to say, but both he and Melimie were reluctant to speak of it.

“How were the orcs? And the other settlements?” Melimië asked tentatively, breaking the long silence.

“Not well,” Maedhros finally said, staring into the fire. “The orcs have gotten closer, and braver. One settlement we had to evacuate entirely. They were integrated into the new settlement we made. Most of them have had to fight the hideous creatures as of late. Our own journey did not go uninterrupted.” He motioned vaguely to the outermost cloak he had been wearing, now on the floor, stained in several places with dark orc blood.

“Was anyone wounded?”

“No, thank Elbereth.” Maedhros sighed. “It worries me though, that they have gotten this way… Enough of that talk, though. Did you have a good day,  _ melme? _ ” 

Melimië was grateful for the change in conversation. She always wanted to know the bad news, but it was hard to speak of it for too long. “It was alright, though much the same as always. It was too cold for a walk through the courtyard, or anything outside, so I just stayed inside and did some mending, and worked on my needlepoint,” Melimie responded. “I fixed your green tunic.”

Maedhros’s lips curved up slightly into a smile. “My sweet, patient Meli. I am sorry I could not provide a more pleasant home for you. May I see your needlepoint?”

“All I ask for is a warm home to share with you,” she replied, blushing slightly, and reaching to the table to pick up her project. Maedhros ran it through his fingers, tracing the pattern, looking at each intricate stitch carefully before handing it back to his wife.

“It’s lovely, Meli! I liked the flower design you did here. And it looks just like the real thing.”

“Thank you!” Melimië avoided his gaze, smiling and glancing over her work again herself. It was a depiction of Tirion in spring, every flower in full bloom. Hearing her husband say it looked accurate filled her with new warmth; she had worried that she wouldn’t be able to remember enough details to accurately reproduce the beauty of Valinor. Maedhros pulled her back into his embrace, and she leaned on his good shoulder for several minutes before they both rose to get ready for bed.

“I wrote out a few supply checklists for the settlements, too,” she commented, shivering as she slid her cloak and  gown off. She half-turned, and caught Maedhros staring at her. She blushed, and his face colored slightly as well, or perhaps it was just the cold. “The… the study was too cold to do more than a couple.”

“I suppose we’ll have to see about that fireplace again.” Maedhros’s eyes flicked over her again, and he smiled when she blushed darker.

“It hasn’t been working very well recently, no.” Melimië hesitantly began to pull on her nightgown, recalling fonder, happier times when Maedhros had looked at her like that. But that was long ago, and for now it was too cold to justify having them off any longer. “Although, it may still be the wind putting the fire out. Or, perhaps it’s just this bitter cold.” Melimië pulled the large blanket back around her shoulders, glancing back at her husband.

Maedhros was still staring at her, but he shook himself from his thoughts with another smile. He was already in his pajamas, but he cast an eye into their small closet, as if looking for some excuse to change in front of her. Turning away after a moment, he looked to the fire burning in the bedroom. He added more wood, and Melimië quickly got into bed, eager to be warm again. She spread the blanket over the top of the covers before tucking in up to her chin.

“I am so cold, Nelyo,” Melimië muttered into her pillow, shifting deeper under the blankets. The wind howled outside, and the chill seemed to come up through the floor, through the mattress, through the blankets, and right back out through her body. She shivered. 

The mattress moved slightly as Maedhros lay down next to her. He moved closer, tucking his body against her and wrapping his arms around her.

“I can fix that,” he murmured into her hair, rubbing her arms.

“N-Nelyo,” she said, surprised for a moment, but pleased. She wriggled against him, making herself comfortable in his body heat.

“Meli,” he responded. He said nothing for a moment, then rolled his shoulder under the blankets. “My shoulder is still aching. Can you massage it? It always feels so much better…”

“Of course! I am glad to… be of service…” Melimie pulled off her heavier mittens and shifted into a better position. She pulled down Maedhros’s many layers, just enough to gain access to his shoulder. She massaged it, and he sighed gratefully.

"You're so good at this," he mumbled. "I’m so lucky to have you…"

"I love you, too," Melimië smiled. She rubbed until the skin was warm under her fingers, muscles looser. "Does that feel better?"

"Mm… yes… thank you…"

Melimië paused for a moment. "I can… do more? Your back? You've been gone so long, you're so tense,  _ melme _ ."

"Meli… are you sure you're not too tired?"

"I'm not the one who's been out in the cold. Let me do this for you?"

"Yes… Yes, thank you. I love you."

Melimië pulled his heavy jacket and shirt up with some difficulty, seeing him shiver from the sudden cold. She pulled the blankets as closely around them both as she could, Maedhros helping tug them closer. Settling down again, she couldn’t help but notice the layers of scarring, although somewhat faded now, that still crossed his skin. She traced a long, jagged one with her finger, wondering how he had gotten it, not truly wanting to know. “Nelyo? Do they hurt?”

He shivered under her touch, light fingertips tracing across his back. “Not… anymore. They’re all just memories of the past, now. The present, however, that’s where I’d like to be…”

“I’m sorry,  _ melme,  _ I shouldn’t have brought it up…” She tried to begin massaging him again, but he twisted around to look her in her eyes.

Maedhros shook his head, smiling softly, and stopped her next words with a kiss. “Don’t apologize.” She began to say something else, but he kissed her again. “I love you,  _ melda hyalma _ .”

“I love you,” she said, into his mouth. “I’ve… missed you,  _ melme _ .”

“I have as well… but I will try to make it up to you.” His fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her even closer. "You don't need to be doing things for me, I need to be doing them for you. I'm the one who left you here alone for so long, aren't I?"

"You've been doing all the hard work, though." Melimië smiled against his lips anyway, kissing him back.

"Let me do a little more…"

She was lost in the moment, content to stay in bed with Maedhros forever, but managed to pull herself away briefly. “Nelyo…  _ melme _ … Are you sure? You want to do this? It’s just, we haven’t, not since Fingon brought you back…” In his eyes, she saw nothing to suggest he wasn’t entirely confident in what he was doing, and it reassured her more even than his simple response.

“Positive.”

He flipped her onto her back, and Melimië laughed and tugged at his jacket. They were finally together again, finally okay, at least for the time being.


End file.
